


Flower crown for Forest Queen

by ptshk



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Fox Jeongin, M/M, a bit of angst, magical Hyunjin, rabbit Changbin, squirrel jisung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28498908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ptshk/pseuds/ptshk
Summary: Jisung recalls grandma’s words and wants to cry. "And most importantly, Jisungie, do not pick up Forest Queen’s flower crown if your heart is not ready to repay them with love."or a story about brave but not very smart Jisung
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Hwang Hyunjin
Comments: 5
Kudos: 78





	Flower crown for Forest Queen

**Author's Note:**

> heavily inspired by my favorite mythology stories  
> i don't have a beta and i'm unable to see my own mistakes so i apologize beforehand  
> i'm also bad at adding tags :{

“Who even believes in these stupid legends? A fern flower, only at midnight, only in a haunted forest and only on June twenty-fourth?” Jisung straightens the bag over his shoulder and, suddenly, begins to speak more quietly. “Our prince is just crazy!”  
The forest is visible on the horizon and the sun will set very soon. Even though Jisung is sweating, goosebumps travel down his hands. He has never been a brave man.  
“But he promised so much for this ugly flower that I could become the most important person in our village!”

The problem is Jisung really needs money. The big problem is that Jisung is not capable of much.  
Jisung refused to study blacksmithing, when it’s harvest he works so slowly that the village children are ten times more useful than him. He can't even make bread, and the last time he was sewing up his pants, his fingers were a bloody mess.  
But Jisung never cared about that because Chan always said that Jisung had another role. “You are made to create Jisung, to bring beauty to the world and I will take care of the rest,” Chan repeated this every night when he felt especially vulnerable and weak. Then Chan always hugged him, gave him a lute and asked him to play their grandma’s favorite song.

Jisung can't do anything that other villagers can but even knights came to listen to Jisung's songs.

Now it's time for Jisung to take care of Chan.

“What a beautiful forest,” he has been wandering through the forest for so long that he managed to finish almost all his food, “and what beautiful trees. After all, I have never seen trees in other forests! I hope there are no wolves or foxes in this beautiful forest!”

Out of nowhere a fox runs between his legs and Jisung does not hesitate to scream, he also does not hesitate to fall on his ass. Now, when there are no foxes in sight, the forest seems so tranquil that it becomes scary. After all, everyone said that this forest was haunted. It was known that everyone who went there to find the fern flower never returned.  
Chan says that before Jisung was born there was a guy named Changbin who went for a walk. Changbin never returned, his parents, unable to cope with their grief, left the village. Where they went Jisung does not know and, honestly, he was never interested.

“Maybe I should stop talking to myself.” He tries to cleans his pants and almost cries from happiness that there are no tears. Walking through the haunted forest with a hole in his pants is shameful enough even for Jisung. But quite in his style.  
”What did grandma say? Don't follow any animals, be it a hare or a harmless mouse. Always keep silver with you, do not talk to people who do not cast a shadow. Wait, how can I check whether they cast a shadow or not? Okay, there was something else. Something like... if you meet a person in the forest, always go first, and never go last. And what terrible thing will I see if I am the last? Someone’s scrawny ass? I've seen enough of this, I have Chan”.

Chan always said that Jisung could sweet-talk his way even with a deadman; now he is going to use his talent.  
The sun has set and the forest seems to be getting darker and darker. If it wasn't for the bright full moon in the sky, Jisung wouldn't have seen his own feet. He can understand why no one has returned from this forest - at night you can fall into some stinky ditch and never get up.

But Jisung has to continue no matter what, so he will keep talking to himself, the owls and the sounds of the forest will keep him company because the forest never sleeps.

“I wonder what I was thinking when I took the smallest waterskin with me? And what was I thinking when I finished all my water?” Jisung shakes the waterskin as if water could magically appear from there.

In a fit of panic, Jisung filled a full bag of food: bread, nuts, dried roots and meat, apples. His bag is so heavy that you can bend under its weight but the waterskin is completely empty and light.

“If I don't find a stream or a lake now, I'll have to go home,” breathing becomes easier, the moon calls for him and Jisung starts walking again but immediately stops.”What am I talking about? Even if I have no water, I cannot stop until I find a fern flower”.

Perhaps gods decide to take pity on the lost soul, perhaps the spirit of his grandmother is watching over him but as soon as Jisung takes a couple of steps, he can hear the distinct murmur of a stream. The moon is so high in the sky that Jisung can almost see the flow of water behind the trees. He understands that he needs to walk slowly and carefully but his legs have their own mind and he is running, running. Branches are scratching, bushes are biting, insects are cracking in the grass but Jisung notices nothing. He finds himself by a moonlit stream and falls to his knees, hands in the water.

The water is ice cold, clear and so delicious that Jisung can't get enough of it. The sleeves of his shirt are soaked and sticking to his hands, the water is flowing over his neck down to his chest but Jisung doesn't care. Suddenly weak, he sits on a stone and stares at the reflections of the moon in the constantly rushing water. Jisung feels so mesmerized that he doesn't notice how quiet the forest becomes. The wind, the gnashing of branches and the voices of owls - everything disappears. Even the melodic stream seems to be silent.

Never ever has Jisung been this scared. His legs don't move, cold sweat runs down his back.

“Anyone?” He barely whispers, hoping to break the silence. “Fox? Owl?” Jisung starts laughing at himself. “There is no owl, I'm absolutely alone here. I'll die here, and no one will find me.”

Sounds return simultaneously in one big explosion. Jisung hears the stream, hears someone moving in the forest and finally jumps to his feet. He does not know how long he has been sitting here but most likely it is almost midnight and he has not found the fern flower yet.

“Which way to go? Though, first things first. I need some water with me. ”Jisung sits down to fill the waterskin but doesn't even have time to reach the water. “What is it?”

In front of Jisung a flower crown is washed ashore. Magnificent flower crown consisting of various flowers and herbs. Jisung definitely recognizes cornflowers, poppies and daisies. But there are even more unfamiliar and, he is absolutely sure, unreal flowers in the flower crown between the petals of which fireflies are shining timidly.  
Jisung only wants to touch. Just smell it and then he will let this flower crown float back.

Flower crown smells like summer when Jisung was very young and lost in a field of poppies. It smells like the happiest memories of his life. Jisung closes his eyes and keeps dreaming.

“Why did you come here.” The voice that scares him doesn’t belong to a boy. Women don’t have such voices either. Voice does not come from behind the trees, nor does it come from the water. This voice is everywhere and nowhere, it is in Jisung's head.  
“I came looking for a fern flower.” He thinks, somehow confident that he will be heard.  
“Then you will never leave.”  
Jisung has a moment to remember Chan’s smile before he blacks out.

“What if I tell him that I will eat him?”  
Jisung feels like he's been ground into flour. He cannot even open his eyes, luckily he can hear what is happening around him.  
“You haven’t eaten me but you will eat him? If I was up to me, I would never believe you. Everyone knows that rabbits are tastier than squirrels,” a second voice says and Jisung almost manages to open his eyes.  
“What if he is stupid?”  
“Who is stupid?” He finally says and opens his eyes. A huge rabbit and a little fox pause, caught off guard. Scared, Jisung tries to get up but his traitorous legs do not obey. He falls on his back and tries to move his legs faster, faster.

After a moment, Jisung realizes that he doesn’t have legs anymore, he has paws. After a few more moments, Jisung manages to stand up and examine his new body. He cannot see his face but his body looks like the body of a little squirrel that his grandmother nursed back to life in winter.

“I am... a squirrel?” He cannot believe what he is saying. And how is he speaking now? “And I can talk?”  
“You can talk like a squirrel,” the fox comes closer and sniffs him, “and we can talk, though only in our thoughts. I hope you do realize that foxes don't know the language of squirrels.”  
“And squirrels do not know the language of rabbits, I am Changbin, by the way,” Jisung hears the voice of a grayish-brown rabbit and freezes.  
“Changbin? The one who left my village twenty years ago?”

Out of excitement, Jisung starts running in circles. Jisung is a squirrel now but nothing changed, he becomes bored too fast. Running around dumbfounded Changbin seems more exciting than standing still. Fox creature takes several steps back.  
“Are you from my village?”  
“Yes, I am! I went for a walk, got lost, found that stream, caught a flower crown and here I am, Changbin the rabbit! How are my parents? Are they still worried?”  
Chan always said that Jisung was too soft, but then immediately added that it was very good quality. Jisung can’t seem to understand why having a soft heart is a good thing, because if he wasn't a squirrel, he would have been crying now. How can he tell Changbin about his parents’ grief?  
“I'm sorry Changbin, I don't know. They left the village a month before I was born.”  
“No, of course, I understand.” Changbin's is so quiet and sad that Jisung wants to hug him. And Jisung would have hugged Changbin many many times but he is not sure that it would be possible to do this with his small squirrel body.

“Let's discuss more important things, what is your name? I am Jeongin and I also caught a flower crown by the stream but I did it on purpose!” The fox licks Changbin's long ears several times and then turns his attention back to Jisung. “And what brought you here? Didn't your parents tell you that if you want to return home, never pick up Forest Queen's flower crown?”

“Don't follow the animals, always keep silver with you, never go last,” Jisung recalls grandma’s words and wants to whine. "And most importantly, Jisungie, do not pick up Forest Queen’s flower crown if your heart is not ready to repay them with love."  
Jisung went looking for the fern flower and found his doom. Chan must be getting crazy with worry at home. What a fool Jisung is, what a fool. Perhaps he deserves to die.

“Will they kill me now?” he asks timidly. Changbin slowly comes from behind and Jisung can't help but lean on the rabbit's soft side.  
“Who will kill you and why? No one killed us. The only reason why you may die is if you wake Hyunjin up. And what is your name?” Jeongin curls up around Changbin who is already curled up around Jisung. And it all seems so warm and safe that JIsung just wants to sleep. Suddenly, he is bone tired.  
“My name is Jisung, who is Hyunjin?”  
“We live with Hyunjin,” it seems that Changbin likes to speak in riddles. “Now sleep. We need to wake up soon and we have a lot of things to do.”  
Jisung wants to argue that he is a squirrel, he is not capable of doing anything but Changbin’s warm breath tickles his ears lulling him to sleep.

Something smells nice. Sweet and entrancing, a little bit familiar even though Jisung cannot tell for the life of him who this scent belongs to. It beckons Jisung, and he is reaching out, reaching out.. and then opens his eyes and sees the most beautiful person he has ever seen. More beautiful than the mermaids from fairy tales, more beautiful than the prince and princess themselves. This person has deep brown eyes and their lips are redder than roses in the garden. Their snow-white skin is strewn with moles like the sky is strewn with stars and their long blonde hair is tied with a silk ribbon.  
Jisung remembers that he is a squirrel only when his heart starts beating so fast he is physically shaking.

He must be dreaming because such ethereal creatures do not exist. But this person shows a tender smile, reaches out and gently pets Jisung's head, even scratches behind the ear.  
“Time to wake up guys and animals, we have a lot to do.” Beside Jisung, Changbin and Jeongin start to wake up. “Welcome to our humble home Jisung.”

“Who was that?” Jisung watches as Jeongin washes himself and tries to remember if squirrels need to wash themselves too. Licking your own fur is still a strange concept for him.  
“It was Hyunjin, and if he woke us up it means we have overslept. Let's go, I'll show you your duties.”

Hyunjin disappeared as quickly as he appeared. Jisung is struck with regret and longing - he didn’t have enough time to get drunk with Hyunjin’s beauty, he didn’t get to memorize that sweet flowery scent. Hyunjin had tight black pants and a white shirt artfully tucked into a wide belt. Hyunjin looked like a giant compared to Jisung who is the size of Hyunjin's palm but beauty can’t be measured and Jisung's heart can't stop beating so fast.

“I usually pick vegetables,” Changbin is as kind and soft as a toy, Jisung has no shame sitting on the back of his rabbit friend, “Jeongin sometimes helps me with bigger vegetables and takes care of the meat.”  
“Do you hunt forest animals?” Jisung almost falls off Changbin but grabs a long rabbit ear with both of his paws.  
“No, the animals in the forest are under Hyunjin's protection. We only eat them if they offer Hyunjin their lives. Mostly Hyunjin and Jeongin have chicken I guess?”  
“And birds don't mind? Can they talk too?”  
“Only we can talk because we are not born animals, we became animals,” there is a huge carrot in Jeongin's mouth, it’s larger than Jisung himself and no, it doesn’t scare him. “Before killing any creature I apologize first and then Hyunjin performs a special ceremony to show how grateful we are. This is how we maintain harmony.”  
“I see,” Jisung still hopes to sneak a peek at Hyunjin and it’s more important for him than chores, “what do I have to do?”  
“Hyunjin wants you to crack nuts, you will also sort out our grains and berries, and then you will help Hyunjin in the kitchen.”  
“Will I?” Jisung doesn't understand why but the thought of being with Hyunjin in the kitchen makes him happily jump and finally fall off Changbin. It's good that the ground is close and Jisung’s fur makes great protection. “I'm ready! Show me what to do and where to go!”  
“See Jeongin, he's already more useful than you.”  
Jisung spends his day laughing and getting to know Hyunjin's little farm, he even forgets who he is and why he came to the enchanted forest in the first place.

Jisung absolutely enjoys living with Hyunjin. In the village he hardly woke up by noon and when he was in a mood to do at least a little bit of chores, the rest of the people were already going back home and getting ready for bed.  
Here, they all wake up at dawn with the old nasty rooster’s singing. This bastard constantly tries to peck Changbin in the ear and Jisung can't help but holler with laughter, even if this laughter is the imaginary one.  
Hyunjin greets them by petting their heads and wishes them a good day.  
Sometimes morning starts with Hyunjin washing Jisung’s face with the help of a handkerchief embroidered with flowers. “For clarity of your mind,” Hyunjin says, then puts Jisung on his shoulder and takes him to the kitchen where they make bread.

Jisung, who knew nothing but how to play the lute, now knows how to bake bread and how to cook meat. Surprisingly, he has a knack for choosing spices and he can spend hours helping Hyunjin to collect herbs and flowers.  
Jeongin says that Hyunjin gives flower wreaths to those in need but Jisung has never seen other people near their house.

He doesn't talk to Hyunjin much, he can fully enjoy spending time in silence. He also dearly values time spent with Jeongin and Changbin. Jisung never had many friends in the village. He had Chan and that's it. Changbin and Jeongin are not Chan, they are funny and carefree, as dumb and frivolous as he is. Sometimes they forget to do what Hyunjin asked them and instead, they lie under the sun with their bellies up. Above all, Jisung likes to nap between Changbin's paws or to pretend that he is disgusted when Jeongin licks him.

More often than not Jisung thinks he should have been born a squirrel - this life is much happier than the one he had. He does not remember and does not understand why he should return to the village at all, he will just stay here forever.

“Jisung, wake up my dear.”  
Fingers run over his head and linger on his nose. Jisung can't hold back, he sneezes and wakes up. Hyunjin is looming over him and staring with bottomless eyes, Changbin and Jeongin are gone.  
“Hyunjin? Is it morning already? Is it time to work?” Jisung runs paws over his face a couple of times but his body is still filled with lead from sleep.  
“Dawn has not come yet but we need to prepare, I will carry you out and Changbin will explain everything to you, jump on my shoulder.”

Hyunjin is wearing a long white dress with a scarlet ribbon around the waist. Hyunjin has clusters of guelder-rose in his ears and his lips are as red as blood. A flower crown filled with wheat seems impossibly heavy and hangs over Hyunjin's dark eyes.  
Hyunjin smells like autumn and Jisung can't help but nuzzle into his neck.

“You got up!” Changbin slowly walks up to Hyunjin and waits for him to put Jisung on the ground.  
“What's happening?” Even if they don't speak out loud, Jisung tries to be quiet and unnoticed.  
They are in the courtyard behind their house. Jeongin doesn’t move and stares at the fire as it grows bigger and bigger. Hyunjin stands behind the fire and for the first time, for the first time in his life, Jisung thinks that Hyunjin is not a human but something more. A force of nature or a lost spirit - something that cannot be understood and that cannot be touched.

“Today we say goodbye to summer and welcome autumn. Today we bless the labor of the people and wish them the best of luck next year.”  
The moon disappears leaving behind that moment in time when the sky is completely empty and colorless. There is no sun, but also no moon. There is no light but there is no darkness either. The fire flares up so high that shiver runs down Jisung’s body and he can feel Changbin tensing behind him. Jeongin is standing in front of them as if protecting them from something.  
Hyunjin raises his hands up to the sky. Jisung doesn’t dare to blink while Hyunjin becomes the fire himself.  
Hyunjin is silent but a song of a thousand voices is heard throughout the courtyard. These voices are intertwining, whispering, screaming and lulling. They hound Jisung and it becomes so overwhelming that he closes his eyes.

“Jisung,” the cacophony of sounds stops, and Hyunjin's quiet voice comes to Jisung with the wind, “open your eyes. We must welcome the coming of autumn with our heads held high.”  
“It's okay, Jisung, it's over already, ”Changbin says softly.

Will something bad happen if he opens his eyes? Will Jisung see the monster instead of Hyunjin or is it all his imagination? Jisung promised himself to be brave so he opens his eyes and sees a nearly extinguished fire. Hyunjin no longer seems ephemeral but Jisung can’t forget what he felt, he can’t forget what he saw. His heart is beating so fast that it is difficult to breathe.  
The first rays of the sun touch Hyunjin's hair and remind of golden waves, descending to the ground and illuminating Jisung, Changbin and Jeongin.  
Confusion, fears and worries Jisung has just experienced, disappear with the first drop of light while emptiness and calmness that he has never felt in his life remain. His heart stops jumping out of his chest, and the scents of autumn fill the air.

“Now go to bed.” Hyunjin waves his hand and the fire fades away. “People are waiting for me.”

“At the end of the summer when we are done with the harvest Jisung, you have to put a piece of roasted rooster and some bread on your porch to thank Forest Queen for her care and protection,” says the grandmother in Jisung's head, reminding once again how true her stories were.

Hyunjin returns at sunset. Changbin and Jeongin fell asleep a few moments ago but Jisung spent the day sitting on the windowsill, alone with his thoughts. All of grandma's stories about Forest Queen, all the legends and rituals were about Hyunjin and Jisung can’t believe he could have been so stupid.  
Jisung can’t believe he got carried away and forgot what he went to the forest for. Jisung has forgotten Chan which means he has forgotten himself.  
Poisonous thoughts that his brother is no longer alive are swirling like a ball of wild snakes. He has to become a human again, he has to get the fern flower from Hyunjin even though he doesn’t know how to do it yet.

“Why are you awake?” Wind closes the door behind Hyunjin, the candles burn brighter, illuminating the room in pink light.  
“I have been waiting for you.” Jisung jumps onto Hyunjin's bed and can't help but hold his breath. The bed smells like summer and prairie flowers. ”I wanted to ask a question. You turned me into a squirrel, didn't you? It’s you who sent that flower crown down the water and you are the guard of the fern flower, right?”

Hyunjin kneels in front of the bed and smiles sadly and blankly.

Jisung doesn't like this smile. He knows that Hyunjin can smile brighter than a dozen suns. When Hyunjin's eyes turn into crescents and his nose wrinkles in a funny way. Sometimes Hyunjin covers his face with his hands but from the way his thin shoulders tremble Jisung knows that Hyunjin is overwhelmed with laughter.  
More than a bright smile, Jisung loves Hyunjin's gentle smile. The one that Hyunjin gives only to him after the sunset. When Jeongin and Changbin are already asleep, Jisung likes to slowly climb onto Hyunjin's chest, curl up into a ball and listen to the heartbeat. Sometimes Hyunjin gently runs fingers down his body and tells all kinds of stories. Stories that even his grandma didn’t know.

Jisung always skillfully pretends to be asleep and pretends not to know that Hyunjin kisses him on the head every night.

“It was my flower crown,” Hyunjin doesn't touch Jisung, instead he clutches the hem of his white dress, “and you caught it. You caught it not because you were looking for love but because you pursued your own selfish goals, hence you cursed yourself.”  
“Is it really selfish to want my brother to be healthy? All I wanted was to find a fern flower, take it to the prince and ask for the best healers for my brother! You were wrong with your punishment, I do not deserve to be a squirrel! And if my brother dies, I hope you will never find peace and no one will ever pick up your flower crown with love in their heart.”

Jisung can’t breathe, thoughts suffocate him. Chan, his one and only brother Chan, might be dying in the village while Jisung is enjoying life in the body of a squirrel.

“If you needed healing, you should have come to me right away. Prince will never get a fern flower, I am sorry Jisung.” The bottomless darkness in Hyunjin's eyes gives way to regret but Jisung doesn't care. There is nothing more important in his life than Chan. And his feelings for Hyunjin are completely irrelevant if they get in the way of his quest.

“I'd rather spend the last days with my brother as a squirrel than just one more moment with you.”

The forest at night is definitely not a safe place. But Jisung went there once and will do it again. Should wild wolves and bears eat him, he would at least know that he tried.

He does not know where the road leads to and does not know what time it is. He only knows his grandma’s words and he repeats them like incantation. “If you get lost, close your eyes and listen. Go where the wind blows. The wind always blows towards your home. ”

The autumn wind hits Jisung and makes him shiver; this same wind pushes him forward and forward deep into the dark forest.

“Will I find the stream?”  
“Do you need to go to the stream? What a cute squirrel!”

Thin female voice cuts through the silence of the night so abruptly that Jisung, scared for his life, falls down and curls up into a ball. The wind keeps calling him, pushing him but Jisung is nauseous; he feels that he is not alone but he doesn't feel the presence of a living creature.

“Who are you?”

“If you don’t know who is in front of you, then close your eyes, dear,” says the voice in his head.

“Forest Bride.”  
Jisung's heart skips a beat because even he knows who Forest Brides are. Those who never met their love, who drowned in a pond or got lost in the forest forever. Those poor lonely souls that were cursed with eternal life. 

“Do you know how to get to the village, Forest Bride?” Jisung dares to open his eyes, there is a young adorable girl in front of him. Her gorgeous black hair streams down the dirty nightgown and almost touches the ground, her skin looks whiter than the lily of the valley flowers.  
“Will you tell me your name, cursed squirrel?” Forest Bride's eyes shine like stars and her teeth seem as sharp as the fangs of predators. Jisung swallows.  
“Will you tell me your name, Forest Bride?” He asks bravely, standing on his hind legs.  
“Smart squirrel, I see, then follow me,” for some reason Forest Bride happily informs him and Jisung knows that he cannot trust those who lure lonely travelers into the forest but he has no choice. And he is already a squirrel, no one needs tiny squirrels.

Forest Bride begins to walk, beckoning Jisung with her laughter. A ray of the moon breaks through the trees, Jisung looks up and can't help but scream. “If you meet someone in the forest, never go last,” said his grandmother, “you will see their real nature and you will not stay alive.”

Frighteningly beautiful, young-looking Forest Bride has no back; the moon illuminates her rotten guts full of moss and dirt.  
Jisung blacks out.

“Jisung, my dear stupid brother, I thought you weren't coming back to me.”  
Something wet and soft touches his forehead, Jisung winces and freezes. He feels so strange, so out of his body and it is so scary to open his eyes. What if magic disappears? 

“I know you are awake, I see your lashes trembling Jisung, open your eyes, it's okay.”  
“Chan?”  
The first thing Jisung sees is the dimples on his brother's cheeks. His Chan is smiling brighter than the sun. Jisung blinks several times but tears are already falling down. He wants to get up, unfortunately, the only thing he can do is to raise his hand and touch his brother’s face.

“It’s alright, everything is great Jisung.” Chan leans over and puts his arms around Jisung, giving the most needed hug in his life.  
“You're alive,” Jisung can't hold back and starts crying loudly. “I thought the time was up. I thought that I would be late. And if I had come in time, I would have spent the last days with you as a squirrel.”  
“Squirrel?” Chan continues rocking him like mothers rock small children.  
“I was a squirrel, Chan, Forest Queen or Forest King turned me into a squirrel.”  
“But you are a human, you are my Jisung, with arms and legs, I am cuddling you and you are crying on my shoulder.” Chan kisses Jisung on the top of his head, making him cry even harder.  
“I don't know why I am no longer a squirrel. I thought I was going to die Chan, I was so scared, so scared.”  
“Of course, you were scared,” says a familiar voice, “you met Forest Bride and saw her back. People usually do not see the light after that. You are lucky that Changbin and I went after you.”

Jisung stops nuzzling Chan's neck and turns around.There is a guy in front of him, very young and pretty, definitely not mere mortal. Sweet but sly smile reminds Jisung of foxes from the fairytales.  
“Jeongin?”  
“Oh, you recognized me so quickly! I am flattered!” Jeongin's smile is so beautiful, it takes Jisung’s breath away. “Changbin, come show yourself to Jisung!”  
“Is Changbin also a human?” Jisung is still clinging to Chan, though he can't help but twist and turn hoping to see Changbin.  
A small but strong guy appears in the room. Jisung thought that Chan was buff. Turns out Chan has nothing on Changbin. “The forest gave us the right to become human several years ago.  
“But you never showed me your faces?”  
“What for?” Jeongin strokes Jisung's hand. “Didn't you like being a squirrel? I really like being a fox.”  
“I think you should explain everything to me boys.” Chan lets go of Jisung but doesn't leave. “Changbin brought you on his back and Jeongin gave me the medicine.”  
“Medicine?”

It turns out, Hyunjin gave a petal of fern flower that healed Chan. Hyunjin lifted Jisung’s curse and asked Changbin and Jeongin to take him home. Hyunjin went against the forest and now he will never let his flower crown go down the stream.

Jeongin and Changbin tell everything.  
They tell how after several years in an animal's body, the forest grants the right to transform into a person. They say that it’s their own choice to live with Hyunjin because Hyunjin is their family and they are his.  
They tell how every July Hyunjin puts his flower crown on water with the joy of a small child, always hoping that someone will catch his heart.  
They explain to Jisung that it wasn't Hyunjin's magic that turned him into a squirrel, that everything had been decided before Hyunjin was created, and that the forest is stronger than Hyunjin. They remember those travelers who were so selfish and evil-minded that they disappeared the moment they touched Hyunjun’s flower crown.

They also tell about how Hyunjin started looking out for Chan as soon as Jisung was turned into a squirrel. Unfortunately, Hyunjin couldn't interfere with Chan's fate, but he could breathe some life into Chan.

“Why did he heal Chan then? He couldn’t do it and now he can?” Jisung hugs his knees and wraps himself in a blanket. Chan is fetching water outside while Jeongin and Changbin are happily eating carrots.  
“Because he loved you,” Changbin says as if it’s so simple, “and the fern flower’s magic helps only those who truly love.”  
Shocked, Jisung falls out of bed but he doesn't care about his bruised shoulder.  
“Did Hyunjin pick a fern flower for Chan? The flower that Hyunjin should protect?”  
“He did it for you Jisung.”

“Are you worried that I won't come back?” Jisung throws the bag over his shoulder and goes over the list of his belongings. This time he is not stupid, he has two jars of water and two loaves of bread with him. He made the bread himself as Hyunjin taught him.

“Should something happen, Changbin and Jeongin will bring you, it's time they came and visited us anyway.” Chan doesn't even look at Jisung, just continues to chop wood.  
Chan's cheeks have a healthy glow to them and his body is full of life.  
Jisung bites his lip to conceal his happy silly smile. In the period of a year, Chan blossomed like a flower and became the most-desired young man of the village. The number of girls who bring them treats and stay to gawk at Chan has long exceeded several dozen. People say that even town girls dream of marrying Chan.  
Jisung has never been so happy for his brother.  
“I got it, I got it. But I do not promise that I will be back immediately. I want to spend time with Hyunjin before I bring him in to meet you.”  
“I only want you to come back. I am healthy and have a lot of things to do, I can wait. Bye Jisung!”

“Don't follow wild animals, be it a hare or a harmless mouse. Always keep something silver with you, do not talk to people who do not cast a shadow. If you meet a person in the forest, always go last and never go first. If you want to go home, never pick up Forest Queen's flower crown,” Jisung hums his grandmother's words on his way to the forest.

The sun has set and he needs to wait for the moon to appear but Jisung can't because he still doesn't know the way to Hyunjin house.  
The sound of the forest is so familiar as if he hasn’t spent almost a year in the village. 

Branches creak, owls cry, and someone sneaks behind the bushes. Jisung has a silver medallion around his neck, and a handful of salt in his bag. Most important, there is determination in Jisung's heart.

“Squirrel, is it you?” This pleasant but bone-chilling voice Jisung recognizes instantly. “You are a handsome guy, squirrel.”  
“You are ugly and I’ve had enough of you,” he closes his eyes and takes a step forward, then another and another, until his confidence returns.  
“Where are you going? Lost? Do you want me to help you?”  
“Show me,” Jisung can't but smile a wicked smile, “take me to the stream, I want to catch Forest Queen's flower crown.” He knows that no one will dare to go against Hyunjin. He is right.  
“I will not steal the next victim of the forest, then”, Bride hisses and disappears.

Jisung stops holding his breath and opens his eyes. He can't stop laughing.  
“I didn't think it would be so easy.”

Jisung doesn’t find the stream, the stream finds him. Water sounds louder and clearer than the howling of the wind. 

As soon as he crossed the forest border, Jisung did not take a wrong step. He understands this when he comes to the shore. Every step he took today led him to this moment. To meet Hyunjin.

The stream seems transparent like a tear under the moon. Jisung remembers the last time he knelt down to drink some water. How delicious and icy the water was. He remembers how a gorgeous flower crown appeared out of nowhere and how Jisung was drawn to it.

The surface of the stream is crystal clear, without a single flower petal and something in Jisung's chest breaks. He slaps himself several times.  
“That's why I came, it’s how it should be.”

“What are you doing here?”

At first, Jisung doesn't see anything. Only the gloomy darkness of the other side of the shore. In a moment, darkness dissipates and the light of the moon falls on Hyunjin.  
Hyunjin, who hasn't changed at all. Who is impossibly beautiful in a white floor-length dress, with waves of long blonde hair and sparkling eyes. Hyunjin has marigolds on the tips of his hair and his lips look deathly pale.

“I came to give you my heart.” Jisung tries to smile even though his voice treacherously trembles. There is always a chance that Hyunjin might reject him.  
“I can’t let my flower crown go down the stream anymore.” Hyunjin walks over to the stream and sits down, letting the hem of his dress get wet. “I'm sorry. Even if I wanted to, I still can't.”

“It’s not important. Would you like to? Would you like me to catch your flower crown?” Jisung steps forward and feels the water licking his shoes.  
“What's the point in discussing something that won't happen?” Hyunjin doesn’t dare to look at Jisung and it breaks his heart. He knew it would happen. Maybe, it’s good that Hyunjin won’t look at him.

“Certainly, I'm not as talented as you,” Jisung throws his bag on the ground and walks into the stream, “but I tried, and I think my flower crown is very beautiful too. I'll put it on the water now, can you catch it, please?” Jisung stops in the middle of the stream, trying not to shiver from the cold water enveloping his body, and pushes his flower crown.

Begonia, hydrangea, verbena, buttercup and yarrow. It took Jisung several days to collect these flowers. He imagines how beautiful the flowers will look on Hyunjin's hair and holds his breath, watches his flower crown, despite the currents, swim directly to Hyunjin.

“This is… ” Hyunjin speaks so quietly, quieter than crickets. But the wind disappears and the world stops.  
“My heart and my feelings are in this flower crown, and I really hope that you will accept it.”  
Jisung feels like a fool, standing in the water and not taking his eyes off Hyunjin. 

Hyunjin, who stares spellbound at the flower crown swinging by the shore.

“No one gave me flowers. Never.” Hyunjin’s pale fingers barely touch flowers, they skim over the petals as if Hyunjin is scared that they are not real. “This crown is so beautiful, it will be an honor for me to wear it.”

Hyunjin's eyes are brighter than the stars and Jisung thinks he doesn’t care anymore; he stumbles, falls and continues to cross the stream.  
He's shaking and completely wet but Hyunjin's arms are warm and the kisses are hot.

Jisung has found his love.


End file.
